Our son has been diagnosed with asthma, and just recently has been in and out of hospital with attacks brought on by a chest infection.

We've always found it a little difficult to give him his inhaler - we've been given two different spacers and one is easier to do without help, but he fights against both types and we have to pin him down forcefully. We've tried letting him play with the bits, and trying to sing songs / make a game out of it, but once it gets on his face he's upset and unwilling to play.

At it's worst, he also has more trouble breathing when lying down. We've got the cot up on an angle but it seems he's not happy until he is actually sleeping sitting up (we eventually put him in his buggy for the night!). Has anyone else found this, and how do you get your child to sleep? Has anyone got other ideas about making inhalers easier to take?

Talk to your doctor about using a nebulizer while he sleeps. You may not have to put a mask on, only direct the mist towards his face when sleeping. Whether this will work is up to your care provider, but it's worth mentioning - this is what they did with my older child when we went to the hospital with breathing problems due to flu. They didn't have to wake him up, and it was generally easier to give the treatment while sleeping than when awake.

We have a nephew that has also had breathing problems (allergy related asthma), and they use a nebulizer and just place the mask close to his face while sleeping.

There are many other ways to deliver asthma medications as well. While inhaling them is most effective your doctor may have other solutions until your child is old enough to handle an inhaler. Eventually they will understand that they can either have a 10 minute nebulizer treatment, or a 30 second inhaler puff, and will choose the inhaler over the nebulizer.

But in any case, please bring your concerns to your physician. They will find a method that suits you and your toddler much better than the current struggle. Don't assume that the method they gave you at first is your only option.